44% institutions have different rules for men and women students, report says

The ‘Saksham’ report, released by UGC, found that our higher educational institutions are not only indifferent to the rights and safety of women, but indulge in moral policing and are ignorant of even what constitutes a gender-related course.

| TNN | Updated: Mar 2, 2014, 03:37 IST

The UGC report said that 83.5% of institutions that responded to the questionnaire denied having received any ... Read More

CHENNAI: The 'Saksham' report, released by UGC, found that our higher educational institutions are not only indifferent to the rights and safety of women, but indulge in moral policing and are ignorant of even what constitutes a gender-related course.
Most of the responses came from Maharashtra, with 275 higher educational institutions responding to the questionnaire, followed by Karnataka at 266. Of the 2,410 colleges and 55 universities in Tamil Nadu, only 84 responded.

The report said that 83.5% of institutions that responded to the questionnaire denied having received any sexual harassment complaints.

"Some said that the women students found it hard to raise their voice to lodge a complaint, and needed to overcome their timidity," the report said.

Asked about existing arrangements on campuses, close to half the respondents said that they had set up a committee (including anti-ragging committees).

Around 10% said they had installed CCTV cameras, 18.5% mentioned female security guards, 26.6% a vigilance committee and 10.9% patrolling guards. Only 4% had a helpline number that women students and faculty could call, and 8.3% had a complaint box.

The responses showed a majority of the campuses have got their priorities wrong. Around 9% of the institutions mentioned a separate common room for girls, and a few even separate staircases for women.

Asked for ways to prevent sexual harassment, colleges predominantly suggested improvement in security and surveillance such as raising boundary walls, more security and installing CCTV cameras.

Others called for dress codes for women, and self-monitoring among students. Some even suggested that parents and guardians need to be brought into the picture and should be the first to be informed about any problem on campus.

The report said that around 44% of the institutions said that they had differential policies and rules for men and women students staying out in the evenings. Some said that women had to give notice well in advance to a warden or proctor for staying out.

To a question as to whether gender related courses were being offered on campus, some responded saying that they offered dress designing and beauty courses. "There was considerable confusion as to what exactly constituted gender / women's studies, both in terms of content and purpose. It would appear that many colleges think that a course taken primarily by women with the potential to provide some kind of employment or vocational potential takes care of the need to offer a course on women / gender related issues and topics," the report said.

In open forums conducted with the task force, students complained that nominated members of internal complaints committees were often perceived as protecting the faculty, and expressed the fear that in the absence of student representation on these committees, no serious action would ever be taken against teachers. They also pointed to the weakness of ICCs in empowering them to combat pressure on them to withdraw cases - not just from faculty, but also from parents and peer groups. "Fear of identification and future harassment prevents many from coming forward," the report said.

UGC vice-chairperson H Devaraj said that the commission had written to universities and colleges to follow the recommendations of the task force in making their campuses safe for women and that they were waiting for feedback. "We will meet in a month to review the situation. If things don't go as planned we intend to get in touch with the state government as many universities are under state control. It is a serious and sensitive issue, so we are waiting to see what happens," he said.

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